Question for the veterans. . . 1st trip to Vegas soon!! |
|
Posted Sat May 17, 2003 12:19 pm GMT by tonytal
Hello.
I have been playing hold 'em on line for about 1 year and have a good grasp of the game. I play limit, a little (but not much) no limit, and tournament style--mostly all low limit. I have NEVER played in a live poker room. I live in Florida and have a couple nearby but have yet to get the guts to sit down with "real" people.
So, I have a couple of questions:
1) Any tips for overcoming the 1st time jitters??
2) How much should I sit with at a $1/$2 table as opposed to a
$1-$4-$8-$8 table?
3) Are there casinos that have regular weekly tournaments??
4) What about some of the annual tourneys?? The Orleans Open will be happening while I am there in July.
5) When are the poker tables most crowded and least crowded??
6) Any poker rooms I should stay away from??
Thanks in advance for any assistance and I will be sure to post what I learned after my trip!!
Tony T.
Did you know that participating in a poker forum can help you improve your own game? Be it by sharing experiences or simply asking for help, participation in a forum helps you focus and keep 'on topic' which will help you improve your game. You can learn from other players feedback and from their experiences. Why the THP poker forums? We offer one of the best managed texas holdem poker forums available, and the community within is far more friendly than those typicaly found on other sites. We've made a 'lurkers edition' of the poker forum available here on Holdem Poker Online, but we encourage all visitors to register and join in on the conversations on TexasHoldem-Poker.com
Posted Mon May 19, 2003 3:24 am GMT by Adam Marshall
First time in Vegas, huh? Good luck!
I'm not a native, but I've been there often enough to give an answer....
(where are our Vegasians on this reply? General Sal? Fooge?)
The "jitters" can only be overcome by sitting down at that poker table and playing. Sure, you'll make some mistakes, forget to put in a blind, fold on the big blind, and bet the wrong amounts when the limit goes up on the turn, but that's to be expected. Just suck it up and play. You'll get the hang of it soon enough. I'd suggest finding the lowest limit you can to start off (less intimidation that way) and buy in for $50xthe small blind in a two-limit game. You can find $4/$8 fairly easy on the strip, or lower if you venture away. There's plenty of tournaments going on out there too, especially now, with the WSOP and all. Check the Bellagio or the Mirage, or any place out there and I'm sure you'll see tons of 'em. I think poker players tend to play when the sun disappears, so if you want a secluded game (but might have to wait), try around 12pm or 1pm. As far as poker rooms you should stay away from, none of them are crooked or anything. For you, the only concern seems to be the 1st timer factor. You might want to stay away from the bigger ones (I'm still intimidated by the Mirage), and find a smaller spot. I like playing at the Flamingo sometimes just for that reason, because there's only 5 or 6 tables total. So after I lose all my money against a gut shot, it's only a short jog into a maze of slots after I flip out 
Have fun!
Posted Mon May 19, 2003 11:02 pm GMT by Guest
The good thing about the Flaming is you can smoke at the tables. the bad things are all the people who walk through the area because they stick you in the middle of all the slot machines. I remember sitting at the 4-8 table and putting myself on tilt because some lady behind me was making all sorts of noise jumping up and down because she hit a jackpot. At the same time my trip aces got rivered by some chooch who waited till the end to make his inside straight.
Posted Mon May 19, 2003 11:04 pm GMT by cmaz44
I made the previous reply!!! I always forget to sign in!!!
Posted Tue May 20, 2003 12:20 am GMT by General Sal
If you're looking for some low limit action, the lowest I've found is 2/4 hold 'em at the Luxor, Palms, Palace Station, and I think that's it. Start you're practice there. I liked Palms because you'll definitely find a lot of younger players there. It's got it's own separate room for a Pokerroom. Luxor has its own 2/4 as well, and it's a section of the main floor casino that is cornered off, yet it's own separate area. In both those rooms, I think you'll find about 6 tables. 2/4 is good to start off with, but as I've been advised before by other local players with a lot more experience, 2/4 hold 'em is the toughest game in town. I think it's because you have people with average to good skills, but a kind of place where seven to ten people still enter the pot. You may be better off starting at 4/8. It's the kind of table, where a bet really matters, even the first bet. Good luck out there!
Posted Tue Jun 03, 2003 9:12 pm GMT by golddog
The Sahara has a tournament on Sunday at (I believe) 7 P.M.
$40 buy-in, no-limit Hold 'Em.
Posted Thu Jun 05, 2003 6:40 pm GMT by beavis
the poker room at luxor is very comfortable, off to the side and out of the way, but still with a good view of some casino action. wasn't that crowded when i was there.
Posted Tue Jun 17, 2003 7:19 pm GMT by Joe the 1st timer
I just got back from Vegas. This was also my first time to sit at a real table playing Hold-Em (or any other game for that matter). I have been around "family" poker my whole life (mostly 7 card stud), but have never been a big gambler, so this was a big step for me.
The Luxor has $25 Hold Em tournaments every weekday at noon, and two tourneys on Sat and Sun - 10:00 am and noon. All games are limited to 29 players, so you must get there no later than 8:30am for the early, and around 10:30 for the noon. You can play in both.
Luxor's regular games are $1-4-8-8. Contrary to the other postings, there were no 2/4 games there, and after speaking with the poker room manager, it doesn't sound like there ever were or will be. He did not know of any cheaper games around (we asked!). I did not investigate the Palms, but will next time.
The tournaments were a great lesson for me to take to the ring games later in the evening. The biggest issue for me was the speed of play. I felt like it was my turn before I'd even had a chance to look around. Half the time, I didn't know who had called or bet in front of me. (I was incredibly nervous - partly because of the money, but mainly because I didn't want to do anything stupid). I finally started not looking at my cards and watching everyone play before me, then looked at my cards. Don't be afraid to take your time!
By the time I had played in those three tourneys, playing at the regular table was much easier, and I was far more comfortable. I look at those tourneys as $25 dollar 1 hour lessons - an amount that I could have lost in a single hand at the $1-4-8 tables.
BTW - I finished 8th (paid to seven), tied for 6th (paid to 5) and then was 2nd out. The 2nd out was great - I was feelin like hot sh*% after two good finishes, and then got my clock cleaned. Good pocket cards, then way to agressive, and got no help on the flop. Second best a few times and I was done. It brought me back to earth very fast (and saved me money that night!).
I played at the Horseshoe in the evenings ($1-4-8). I expected some real good, local players, and there were a few. There were also some maniacs and bluffers. If you can identify them early, you'll be way ahead.
Some playing tips:
1. If you can, sit at the 2,3 or 8,9 table positions. This will allow you a much better view of the entire table, and you'll be able to see the other players.
2. Play tight - extremely tight. The more you just watch, the more you'll be prepared when a big decision comes up. If you have good cards, by all means play 'em, but otherwise, toss 'em and watch - closely! You can literally lose only $10 bucks in an entire hour by simply putting in your blinds and doing nothing else ($1-2). As you get more comfortable, then loosen up.
3. The stakes may be $1-4 through the turn, and $1-8 on the river, but at my table, they were pretty much $4-8. The exception was that 50% of the time, you could see the flop by calling only the $2 big blind.
4. Have fun and learn. There is no other reason for players of our caliber to play. You aren't going to make a lot of money, and if you're wise, you won't lose much either, so have fun and learn. (Note: I limited myself to one beer every couple hours. I can normally throw back 4 in an hour, but this was real money and I wanted to be as sharp as possible. I really only drank the beers to calm myself down a little!)
Hope this helps. Let me know if you want more info.
Posted Wed Jun 18, 2003 9:54 am GMT by bigwilly
im heading out to vegas next moth. whats the payout for the luxor 25$ buy in tourney. i'll be staying there & it seems like a nice lil game to pass the time inbetween my 10-20 sessions at bellagio & mirage. any other tourneys u know of?
|
|
